Curtains
by kgbsprite
Summary: Marinette began to walk toward the edge when she noticed someone else was there too. He was standing on the edge, and he was about to step off. She realized what was happening, so she rushed forward and grabbed his hand. He turned his head and Marinette stared into his green eyes. You know how they say, the eyes are the windows to the soul? He had shut the curtains. Depression AU
1. How She Fell

For a while now, Marinette had been bullied about how she looked, from her cheap cloths, to her bruised face, and even though she hated it, she tolerated it. It started getting out of hand when she had tried to be in a relationship with Nathaniel, who bragged about certain things that they didn't actually do. Her school began to have a different opinion about her then. She had found hate letters in her locker, she was pranked in cruel ways, and worst of all, the few friends that she had started to abandon her for people that wouldn't ruin their reputation.

Life at home wasn't much better.

Her parents were always arguing about the bakery, and her father was staying out all night to drink. When he did come home, he would hit Marinette and her mom for no apparent reason, and her mom wouldn't say anything. They ignored her and her life, never asking how she did in school, never questioning if she went out at night, never noticing if she was sad or lonely.

One day, as she stumbled to her locker after being tripped by her main tormentor, Chloe, she saw three notes inside of it. She was assuming that they were the regular hate notes and was about to throw them out, but then she caught a glimpse of the bottom of one of the notes.

"From, Nathaniel"

She scrambled to open up the note, hoping it said something along the lines of, "please forgive me for making your life miserable, I am truly sorry and I will make it up to you somehow", or, "you'll make it through this, don't listen to those bullies who say that you're ugly", or even a simple, "I love you". Sadly, it did not contain anything along the lines of that.

"Marinette,

You've gotten really clingy lately, and it's annoying. You know, the only reason I dated you was because I was sorry for you. You've become a pain in everyone's neck, and you need to get lost. We're over.

From, Nathaniel"

Marinette blinked. That wasn't right. Nathaniel wasn't that cruel. Was he? Did he really only date her because she was a charity case? Would he just leave her through a letter? Like she was the nobody everyone said she was?

Marinette's breath hitched. She grabbed the second note, desperately praying that it was an apology or a confession that it was all just a cruel prank, but it was worse.

"Hey Mari-trash,

We went around and asked people if they would fully support you if you decided to go live in a ditch, and we wanted to show you just how many did!

From, Chloe"

She looked at the list attached.

She covered her mouth to keep from sobbing.

Everyone in the grade had signed it, including Nathaniel.

Marinette opened the last note.

It was another list.

"Hey Mari-trash!

We decided to do another list to make you feel better. This time we asked who would show up at your funeral if you died. Enjoy!

From, Chloe"

Marinette unfolded the list.

It was blank.

Marinette had been on the edge of a cliff, hanging on for dear life, clinging to anything that might make her happy, but when she held onto it too hard, it slipped from her grasp, making it harder for her to keep from falling off.

She imagined the cliff that she was on.

Maybe… just maybe… she could let go.

Marinette smiled weakly. The only escape she had now was…

But what about her parents? Wouldn't they miss her?

No. No they wouldn't. They would continue to argue, and they wouldn't even notice she was gone.

Marinette closed her locker slowly. She heard the bell ring. It was the end of the day. She could run home and grab her bike. She would ride to the nearest bridge that was out of sight. Then she could end her pain.


	2. How He Broke

Chapter 2: How He Broke

 **A/N: Thank you to anyone and everyone who is reading this! This is my first fanfic, and I was actually thinking of deleting this story until I saw the reviews. It is super encouraging, so keep up with the good reviews, and again, thanks for reading.**

 **~kgbsprite**

Adrien was surprised he had even lasted this long.

He barely ate. He never hung out with people his age. And all of this pressure to be the "perfect boy" was enough to make someone explode.

Perhaps it was better that he barely had any time to himself. He probably would have just spent it lying around and thinking about all the ways he had disappointed his father.

Adrien didn't really know why he wanted to die. Maybe because he was all alone with no one to talk to and no one to love him. Maybe because he could never do anything right and he just seemed like a problem and a burden to everyone. Maybe it was just because he was tired of hiding his pain and wanted to escape that horrible, ugly feeling that was causing him to drown in sorrow.

He was mulling this over in his mind while he chewed on a miniscule piece of cheese for lunch when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He grabbed his phone and turned it on, wondering who could possibly be texting him, but when he saw the message, it was an alert telling him to go to his photoshoot that was scheduled 10 minutes ago.

Adrien jumped from his seat and sped out through the door, abandoning the large plate of food he refused to eat. Gorilla was outside in the limousine, waiting for him impatiently. He opened the door and got buckled in as fast as he could. When he was secure, he closed the door and the limo started driving at speeds that would have broken the law had it not been an Agreste car doing it.

When he finally arrived at the photoshoot, he was about 30 minutes late. Before he opened the car door, he plastered on a fake, model worthy smile, and lept out. He quickly got changed into the clothes he was showing off, and got to work. Before the photographer started taking pictures though, he could see a grimace on his face and heard him mumble, "...stuck up rich kid…." Adrien flinched. He had made everyone's work harder just because he lost track of time and couldn't focus. "Nice going, Agreste." he mumbled to himself.

When they were done, he got in the car with Gorilla and drove home. The first thing he heard was his father yelling, "ADRIEN! MY OFFICE! NOW!" Adrien gulped. Father must have heard that he was late. He trudged up the stairs, his head hanging.

When he opened the door, Adrien could've sworn that his father had a vein popping out. But in a mere second, his face changed from red hot rage to cold hard disappointment.

"Do you know why I called you here, Adrien?"

He was talking to him like he was an employee who was about to be fired.

"Yes father." he mumbled quietly.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't quite hear you, what was that?" Gabriel Agreste said in a malicious voice.

"Yes father." he said a little louder.

"I had to reschedule two meetings, all because you couldn't be bothered to get to your, let me say that again, your photoshoot on time!"

Adrien looked down and shrunk into himself. He couldn't do anything right. He already knew that.

"You've failed me for the last time, Adrien. The next time this happens, I'll make you live on the streets for a week!"

Adrien choked.

"I-I'm sorry, f-father. I'll make it up to you."

"What?"

"I-I'm sorry."

His father slapped him across the cheek. His eyes were cold and full of hate.

"Don't ever let me catch you groveling for mercy again. It won't come. You don't get a free pass just because you're my son. Quite the opposite. Now get out."

Adrien hid his pain and sorrow like he always did and walked out without another word. Once he had closed the door behind him, he bolted across the lifeless mansion to his room. He slammed the door and crawled under the covers of his bed. Then he started to cry. He cried because he was lonely. He cried because no one loved him. He cried because he could never share his pain. He cried until his eyes were all dried out and they couldn't cry anymore. This had gone on too long.

He knew of a bridge, not too far from his house. He could run there without getting too tired. No one had to know.

He walked out of his room and went down the stairs. He went out the door calmly so that none of the staff suspected anything. Once he was outside, he ran.

When he got there, he walked to the edge and stepped on the bar that kept people from falling off by accident. There was nothing there to keep him from falling on purpose. He spread his arms and looked up to the sky.

Maybe he could see Mother again.

 **A/N: Did anybody notice the little Star Wars reference? Anyway, I need some help from you guys. I don't know of any bridges in France and I would love for some suggestions so that I don't have to refer to it as, "the bridge" or, "a bridge". Thanks again for reading!**

 **~kgbsprite**


	3. Heaven On Earth

Chapter 3: Heaven On Earth

 **A/N: Thank you to all who reviewed Chapter 2 and left suggestions! I have decided to refer to le bridge as (drumroll please)...The Pont des Arts AKA the love lock bridge! Shoutout to izzy, mayuralover, and Guest (wow, so mysterious XD) for suggesting!**

 **~kgbsprite**

Marinette pedaled all the way to the Pont des Arts before deciding that it was the one. At this time of night, there were no cute couples strolling around, and the tourists had all gone home for the day. She parked her bike and taped a little note to it. Not that anyone would care.

Marinette began to walk toward the edge when she noticed someone else was there too.

He was standing on the edge, and he was about to step off.

She suddenly realized what was happening, so she cried out and rushed forward and grabbed his hand.

He turned his head, and Marinette stared into his green eyes.

You know how they say, the eyes are the windows to the soul?

He had shut the curtains.

Adrien stared back at the random girl who had kept him from falling.

For a moment, he felt angry, as he had just been denied of the peaceful escape he had planned. Anger quickly subsided into a deep sorrow, which led to the feeling of hollow emptiness.

"Let me go." He turned away from her and tugged toward the edge.

But she had a firm grip, and tugged the opposite way. "No."

"You have no idea what this feels like. Just let me die."

The girl chuckled softly. Adrien was confused. Nothing about this was funny.

"What's your name?" she asked quietly and seriously.

"Adrien." he said listlessly.

"Well Adrien, it seems we have something in common."

He expected her to say something cheesy.

He looked into her bluebell eyes, expecting to find pity, but finding something else entirely.

On the surface, he saw sorrow and loneliness.

But when he looked deeper, he saw a broken soul, shattered into a million pieces.

Just like his.

"It seems that we came here with the same intentions."

Marinette looked at the boy who knew, at least on some level, what she was feeling. She smiled weakly.

Adrien stepped down from the edge. The feeling of being understood was so strange to him, and he had no idea how to react.

Marinette pulled him closer to her, and hugged him.

Adrien broke. The last time someone had hugged him like this was when his mother was still alive and his father was still human. He embraced the girl he didn't know and started to sob into her shoulder.

Marinette wrapped her arms around his waist while tears of her own started to drip down her cheeks. She had no idea why she was crying. She wasn't really sad. In fact, this was probably the happiest she'd ever been in her life. She was happy that she could help Adrien, she was relieved that she wasn't the only one who knew pain like this, and even though they were total strangers, Marinette felt like she could finally trust someone.

Adrien cried because he wanted to. He had hidden his pain for so long, and suddenly, this beautiful angel who understood him comes along, and he could finally take off his painful mask of "happiness".

When Adrien's eyes were completely dried up, he let her go, and sat down on the sidewalk against the railing. Marinette decided to sit down next to him.

"Who are you?" Adrien asked.

Marinette laughed dryly. "A nobody, according to everyone I know."

"Not to me."

"You don't even know me."

"Exactly, you don't know me, so you couldn't be a nobody, right?" Adrien smiled, feeling a little bit better.

She laughed genuinely. "That makes absolutely no sense, but I'll bite. I'm Marinette." She held out her hand.

Adrien grinned and shook her hand. "Well, you already know my name, but I just love to hear the sound of my own voice, so I'll say it again. I'm Adrien."

Marinette giggled, and for a second, they both wondered if they were still alive.

Because in this moment, they had both found heaven on Earth.

 **A/N: Welp, as I was strolling down Review Lane, someone (shoutout to KayleleP) pointed out that the love lock bridge isn't high enough to jump off, so we're all just gonna pretend that the duo can't swim or that the bridge is like 50 feet higher than it is. Thanks for reading!**

 **~kgbsprite**


	4. Confession

Confession

 **A/N: I'm sorry for being slow with the writing, but I needed a little time to think about how I wanted this story to go. I felt like there were two paths that the story could go down. I could've written about more hardships that they had to deal with, and the plot would base around how they both spiraled downward into their depression and how they couldn't get out of it, even with each other. It would have ended in a Romeo and Juliet fashion, where one of them killed themselves because of a misunderstanding, and the other couldn't live without them. I really thought that though it was dark, it was, sadly, more realistic. Then there was the other path. I could've written about how they both had completely fallen in love with each other, how they pulled through together, and how love conquered all. It was unrealistic and untrue about life for most people with depression. Then I thought, screw it, if this is a fictional story, I'm gonna make it about how life should be, not about how it is. I want this to show how you can get through it, and I want it to be an anthem for hope and love for the people who are hopeless and unloved. I believe that true love exists. I believe that hope exists. I believe that the universe will help those who persevere, and will always give you a second chance. Always.**

… **.**

 **I needed to put that out there.**

… **.**

 **I think I'm only going to do one or two more chapters, so don't be surprised when you get to the, "and they all lived happily ever after."**

 **Love,**

 **kgbsprite**


	5. New Beginnings

Chapter 4: New Beginnings

 **A/N: If there was a contest for procrastination, I would get first place. I am SO sorry. Forgive me.**

 **Love,**

 **kgbsprite**

"I'm not sure I can go back home after this."

"What are you talking about?" Marinette asked. "You're not actually thinking about living on the streets, right?"

"Well, I was thinking I could stay with you." Adrien said, his hand rubbing his neck shyly.

Marinette blanched. She then proceeded to turn into a stuttering red statue.

"Well, I-I couldn't go back, having missed so many things already, a-and I just couldn't stay at Chloe's after what you told me, s-so it seemed like a good idea." Adrien explained, suddenly realizing how weird that sounded.

"W-well, maybe…"

_Flashback_

Marinette shifted closer to Adrien, feeling a bit cold.

"So," she said. "Why did you come here?"

Adrien sighed. "Because I was just a problem for everyone. How about you?"

"Same. Sort of. Everyone justs hates me for no reason." Marinette tucked her head between her knees.

Adrien frowned. "How did it happen?"

She turned her head slightly to look into his eyes again. All she saw was care. "I don't really know. I used to have a boyfriend, but he lied about… some things that made me look bad. It was already bad, because this girl named Chloe bullied me about how I looked, but it got worse when she started encouraging others to "join in on the fun"."

"Wait, Chloe Bourgeois?" he said in surprise.

"You know her?"

"I knew her as a kid, but we were never really close. I never imagined she'd turn out to be a cold hearted bully."

"How many friends do you have?"

"Zero. My father makes sure of that." he said with no emotion.

Marinette felt a bout of pity rush through her. "One." she said smiling, putting her hand on his knee.

Adrien smiled back at her, and it sent a tingle run down her neck.

"How in the world could you disappoint someone?"

He snorted. "It's a talent that I have."

She raised an eyebrow. "I imagine you share the same sense of humour with your dad."

"Ha! I don't think he even knows what a joke is. He is the most serious man in the world. He threatened to throw me out on the streets if I caused a problem, and he was not kidding."

Marinette frowned and set her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. If there is any way I can help, I will."

Adrien grinned. Marinette was so kind.

They continued to talk until it started to rain…

_Return to Present_

"W-well, maybe you could stay with me until midnight. You could sneak back in when no one's awake."

He stood up and held out his hand. "It sounds like a plan."

Marinette grabbed his hand and pulled herself up. "Alrighty then! Let's go before it starts to pour."

She reached for Adrien's hand and started to run home, dragging him along. He laughed and tried to keep up.

When they reached Marinette's house, they ran upstairs so that her parents didn't notice. Then they talked. They talked about their lives, what they liked, the problems they dealt with, and the things that they wished they could do. They were so deep in conversation that they hadn't noticed the hours that flew by.

They had just exchanged numbers when a beeping noise alerted them that it was midnight.

"Aw man," Adrien sighed, "It was just starting to get good."

Marinette giggled. "Well, I look forward to talking again soon."

Adrien practically beamed.

They snuck downstairs and crept out the door. The rain had briefly relented it's downpour, so they decided to walk to Adrien's mansion together.

When they got there, Adrien stood outside the door quietly outside the door, unmoving.

Marinette, who had gotten used to his talkative personality, was surprised.

"Adrien?"

"Marinette… I have something to tell you."

She got worried and wondered what was wrong. "Yes?"

He gulped. "Did you hear about the Frenchman who tried to jump off a bridge?"

Marinette froze, expecting something bad.

He looked her in the eyes. "He was in Seine."

Marinette face-palmed.

Adrien could barely contain his roaring laughter.

Marinette sighed. "You are the worst."

He winked. "I know."

Just then, it started to rain again.

"Shoot." she said, knowing she would have to walk home in the rain.

"Hold on, I think I can help."

Adrien ran inside for a moment, then came back out holding a black umbrella.

He held it out to her, and she took it, her hand brushing against his.

"Thank you," she said, "For everything."

"No problem."

She had begun to walk away when he grabbed her hand.

"Marinette, call me crazy, but I think it was fate that put us together."

Marinette smiled and squeezed his hand. "Then let's help it and stay together."

Adrien grinned and hugged her. "It sounds like a plan."

She hugged back, then let go.

"I'll see you around then."

All he could do was nod in happiness.

Marinette walked homeward until she found her bike. She grabbed the note that was still stuck to it and tore it up. She threw the pieces into the river and continued walking.

Neither of the two could sleep that night, and before they went to sleep, they both whispered to the dark.

"I think I'm in love."

 **THE END**

 **A/N: Thank you all for reading this far, again, I'm sorry that this took so long. For my first fanfic, I thought it turned out well, and you guys might see some more ML stories, but for now, that's all.**

 **Love,**

 **kgbsprite**


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